Cyber security firm McAfee has given its core suite of anti-virus and security software an overhaul to bolster the protection it can provide against currnet and future hack attacks.

McAfee AntiVirus Plus, McAfee Internet Security, McAfee Total Protection and McAfee LiveSafe have all had an upgrade, giving them access to the company’s next-generation anti-malware engine.

This has the advantage of bringing in the engine’s ability to tap into cloud-based machine learning and behavioural analytics capabilities, which should go someway to detecting existing and developing cyber threat before they can cause damage.

Alongside the new anti-malware engine, McAfee’s software suite has been given a new user interface to make it easier to for people to see the threats they face on both Windows and Mac machines, and receive personalised recommendations on ways to boost their security. A shredding tool has also been added into the mix to permanently delete unwanted files to keep them out of the reach of cyber criminals.

Improvements for McAfee software on Android have also been made, including improved Wi-Fi security which points out which networks are safe to use and which aren’t, and a ransomware removal tool to kill the ransom process of a malicious app before it can take a mobile device hostage.

Not content with improving its core software suite, McAfee has also brought the above improvements into its Secure Home Platform, Safe Family and Safe Connect lines of software. This trio of security software is aimed at protecting all manner of connected devices in a home and stops children from accessing inappropriate websites and digital content, as well as keeping peoples’ internet browsing hidden from malicious eyes through the use of “bank-grade encryption”.

Given new cyber threats and hacking techniques seem to get discovered everyday, it’s a relief to see security firms continuing to push new capabilities and anti-malware tech into their software.